₦airaland Forum

chic2pimp:
A more experienced AJ knocks down a 42yeard old Klitschko early but not a younger and fitter Klitschko.

Fury has always been on the heavy side. Don't think that would ever change. He certainly has the punching power to knock out Fury but I don't know man with his reach advantage, I think He'll be boxing from the outside.

He certainly took one helluva beating last night. Tbh so did AJ. Infact Fury is taunting AJ on twitter saying He's bout was much smoother.

Exactly. So the matter of Klitschko's age really is neither here nor there. Fury didn't knock him down either so for me he is just pissing in the wind and trolling.

I really worry about A.J's chin but he had very useful education last night. Fury would underestimate him at his peril. And I'm very sure Fury can't survive those blows. A.J's handspeed is unreal for a guy his size.

chic2pimp:
Loool.. I just find one pub. The atmosphere even at the Pub was banging.

There was a lot of toing and froing. When Wladmir first got knocked down, I thought it was over then AJ got knocked and this time I was certain it was over. Just could not see a way back as that was the time AJ was starting to struggle fitness wise.

Mate that Uppercut sent chills down my spine. The thing weak me. His lack of endurance was one of things I was most wary off. Never been past round 6 ever and it showed in the later rounds.

I agree. Had He brought this sort of attitude and fighting spirit vs Fury, He would have won. His head and feet movement were impeccable last night. Against Fury, He looked Heavy and a bit disinlnterested

The 180 degree turn from when Joshua knocked Klitschko to when Klitschko returned the favor I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it in recent times.

The way AJ worked his way back into the fight was remarkable. That urgency from Round 10. He knew he needed a K.O and the boldness he showed to go out and get it really impressed me.

Fury dominated but never came close to dropping Wlad. The Wlad I saw last night was mobile and energetic. If I were Klitschko rather than fight AJ again I'd try for a rematch with Fury.

That uppercut me sef wey dey watch am been levitate. Only reason Klitschko is not in I.C.U is because these Eastern Europeans were raised on a diet of distilled vodka and broken glass

airmark:
https://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Skip-Bayless-Looks-at-Camera-Shakes-Head.gif

See this mumu Apoche cra cra sha. You remind me of those Twitter babes that just discovered boxing and Anthony Joshua yesterday. Je lo bere. You never discover internet when I don dey yarn about boxing for here

Ibime:
Skillset, AJ can't beat Klitschko. And Klitschkos chin is pretty dependable. He hasn't been TKOd for over a decade. So logic follows that I would back Klitschko for the win cos AJ can only beat him by KO.

Make we see if Fury gets back to shape. I would fancy him against AJ. AJ na just clubber Laing. This division ain't shyt bro. My era na the Holyfield, Tyson, Riddick Bowe era. Even the Lewis we considered boring for his low risk, hiding behind his jab approach is more skilled than all these guys.

That's the thing. Skills is good and you can learn that but I've seen pure power win quite a few fights. And you can't teach power. You can't teach that. Especially in the heavyweights. Plus K.O power can bail you out of a lot of unnecessary slugfests. This is part of what inhibited Holyfield asides his size.

On the flipside guys like Bowe and Foreman were not too skilled but what skill would prepare your chin for an overhand right from Riddick? Foreman was beating niggas almost have his age cos Power.

Can you name anybody Klitschko fought in that decade span that threw the kind of blows A.J threw today?

Me sef na O.G for boxing matter but no two generations are alike. No point pining for it. They would be tough to surpass. Even the general impression is that this generation is making small improvements

Like I mentioned for una thread. My main worry with AJ is his cardio and chin. He did better vs Wlad than Fury ever did. Fury's size is also a big liability. Fury cannot eat those punches that fell Wlad either so if AJ sorts his cardio then I fancy him

chic2pimp:
Wladmir has always been the more skilled boxer of the two brothers whilst Vitale was the more mentally and physically tough one. Had Klitschko been 5 years younger, We probably would be talking about a different outcome right now.

Absolutely Fella...The Heavyweight division is slowly regaining it's lost glory.

Fury is running his mouth on twitter ....Fury vs Joshua next it seems

A more experienced AJ probably knocks out Klitschko early. The boy is still quite green and has never faced a Klitschko before

Fury is still a bit too heavy. I can't attest for A.J's chin and cardio yet but if it holds up I'm pretty sure he can knock Fury out. He beat Klitschko but Klitschko did not take much punishment at all. Tonight he took a beating

pamcode:
Raumdeuter, A40 congrats I heard you guys have won the Bayern Liga AGAIN with 3games to spare.

Oshay Brotherly wetin we go do nau. Na our birthright. Though we wanted more but it wasn't to be

Eruditor:
Anderson had 10 shots per game in his first 3 games in the series compared to 11 per game in the regular season - big difference.

Beverley's impact is one reason why people who know stuff say stats don't always tell the whole story. If Harden and Bev are trying to box Russell out and Beverley strikes the ball off Russell's hand in the sequence he is credited the steal but someone actually watching the game would have seen Harden's handiwork in making that steal possible. If that was lost on you, it is one of those things, no sweat.

Harden was 41% at FG, rest of his team? 45.6%
Harden was 24% at 3pt, rest of his team 28.4%

Compare that to Russell that was 39% at FG while his teammates were on 47% and 26.5% at 3pt while the rest of his team were 31%.

In every angle even the stats scream, "Russell use your teammates more!" But no..

Just about any RANDOM article on how the series went would have an excerpt just like this:

What didn’t go well for the Thunder?
Westbrook was looking to distribute early on and recorded a triple-double before the half as the Thunder jumped out to yet another early lead. Again, this looked to be the best possible version of the Thunder, and again things fell apart in the second half.
Westbrook looked for his shot more coming out of the break, recording only four assists for the remainder of the game. But it was another inefficient shooting performance for the MVP candidate.

This statement was made after game 4 but you can substitute it for all their losses and it would come out the same.

I mean damn near every article I have read has a paragraph or 2 mirroing exactly what is above. But Russell thinks he is MJ meets Curry meets Lebron so he tries to do it all alone and when his team loses, people turn around and blame them. That is just....ridiculous.

Anderson

Game 1 - 1/6
Game 2 - 1/8
Game 3 - 8/14
Game 4 - 1/6
Game 5 - 1/5

So what are you stil arguing please? You can see that in 5 games he only shot double figures ONCE! and way below his season average. So your Anderson example is rigor mortis. It is ludacris to keep pumping role players the ball when they are cold.

All this one you dey yarn na Tales by moonlight. You can't show another defender who did a better job on Westbrook individually and back it up with any stats. I no dey for your Telemundo analysis

Common sense dictates that a Westbrook attracting that much defensive scrutiny would shoot lower than his teammates. Even at that volume you can see the difference is minute. So what is your assurance that they do better with a higher workload?

OKC are -58 when Westbrook sits but keep focusing on minimal and borderline negligible shooting percentage differentials

Ibime:
I thought Klitschko would win but wasn't sure if it was already prearranged for him to lose. But from the weighin, you could see he had trained seriously for the fight.

Anyway, congrats to Joshua. Heavyweight division is nothing to get too excited about these days sha.

Lmao haba. And miss out on tying Ali? Wlad no go gree that one. I felt AJ would win by verdict of his youth and power. I've seen Klitschko taken the full 12 by lesser talents and lower K.O power. Abi no be him Samuel Peters nearly beat? Abi he even beat am sef.

This was the best heavyweight fight since Wilder x Stiverne if not better. I think the division is coming back

Roland17:
I was very proud of AJ, although his inexperience nearly punished him in round 5 when he was out of gas. He came out with multiple combinations in the early minute of the 5th and succeeded in knocking WK, however, WK showed by he was a renowned power puncher afterwards.

Fighting and winning past the 7th round was very important for AJ especially if he wants to have a successful heavy weigh career. He was on uncharted waters after the 7th round and he held him own. You have to agree with me that a younger WK would have killed AJ, but credit to the lad. Joshua's conditioning needs a lot of work, as he was gassed by the 5th round, for a 27 year old, that is troubling.

This was his biggest fight in his professional career since the Olympics, he was fighting at home against a semi retired WK. I hope he gets more opportunities especially in the US.

I knew the lack of experience was going to be an issue. He's been a pro for just 4 years, he started very late too.

He is still relying on pure talent and instinct. As he grows older he would improve in strategy and alter the approach for each fighter. I think the weight also hurt him. He was 10lbs heavier than Wlad and it showed. He needs to shave off some lbs

Klitschko fought better than I saw him do against Fury. And yes I agree a younger Wlad woulda put AJ out. Deontay Wilder sef for kill am for that Rd 6-9 window

Talk2bryant:
Pls educate me on the home cooking, I think the fight was rigged

Home cooking is very real. Kovalev vs Ward and Bradley vs Pacman I are recent examples. You even have instances when the fight is not just in the beneficiary's country but all 3 judges share the fighter's nationality

Roland17:
At 41, W. Klitschko has slowed down, and may not possesses the power punch the Ukrainian is renowned for, however, i still think he has the experience to win this fight.

The Boy did IT! But only just! The sheer gulf in experience nearly showed but I was just too sure the blows would be too much for Klitschko

chic2pimp:
A40 shey u dey watch the fight?

I watch am from pali to pali. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I missed that fight.

Joshua nearly fall my hand walahi. Between Rounds 6-9 he looked dead and buried. Even after dropping Klitschko he froze and looked wasted.

I always felt Joshua had too much power in his blows to not floor Wlad at least once. Did you see that uppercut? What I underestimated was his inexperience. It was a priceless endurance lesson he learned today

Props to Klitschko. If he fought like this against Fury he would still be champ. He needs to retire though. Going for a rematch would be suicide.

Upnepaa:
Bayern win league,nobody fy come celebrate bcus it is soo normal....

Its tough to be in celebratory mood after the events of the past two weeks. Let's just say we were hoping for a little more.

Shame inasmuch as I loathe Rondo. His injury just drained the life out of the Celts vs Bulls series and killed it as a contest. Want to see if they have an answer for John Wall. The guy is on some other shyte in terms of scoring and efficiency, the whole nine

Eruditor:
LOL. I proved you did not watch those games. You used uppercase to claim by himself in game 5 and I showed you it was over the whole series. The point was to show you that if you watched those games you would have seen it.

And I did not argue with the stats they presented I simply interpreted it better. Beverley did not force 5 TOs out of Russell in one game. Beverley did not make Russell shoot 7/27 in game 5. We can agree that that is a fact and the telemundo version would be the argument that Beverley did all that BY HIMSELF in game 5.

Again even routinely watching Ximo Pierto or NBA conference's highlight reels will show bodies on Russell almost each time he went for a layup or dunk. I cannot believe this is being argued.

Then as per Oladipo, you don't want to accept that he has never been a catch and shoot player. He is forced to play that way when Russell is on the court. Sure, Oladipo did not shoot well but neither did Russell in the 4th quarter. So why absolve him and blame the rest of his mates because he had 15/34 or 18/40?

How do coaches know Lebron can influence a game or that Ray Allen should shoot the last shot? How did Lue know Harrison Barnes will be 5/32? Is it not something they devise and if it fails it fails? So what is wrong in assuming that Mike did same? Or he could not because WB must be exonerated by all means?

You that saw the Rockets keep pumping the ball to Ryan Anderson despite taking fewer shots than his regular season average is claiming you proved I didn't watch the game. Wehdone sir

Lost in translation is your inability to prove Patrick Beverley was not the Rockets singular most important and impactful defender on Westbrook.

You are talking random highlights we are talking actual stats dedicated to each player's individual contributions. Smh

Why do you have this annoying habit of crediting me with statements I didn't make? Am I not the one who likened Oladipo's game to Wade's, Giannis? I don't need you to explain Oladipo's playing style to me. Show us how many catch and shoot shots Oladipo had to make, or how often he got the ball late in the clock. So we might at least see if you even have an argument.

I'm sure if we check Harden's shooting compared to his teammates it might be even worse than Westbrook's. Drawing less attention shouldn't Westbrook's teammates be shooting at a higher clip?

I no dey for your 'what if' assumption Telemundo. Last I checked you are not a Rockets coaching staff

birdman:
After wetin klitcshko do my man samuel peter? Na joshua na.

Joshua got quicker hands but klitschko has more knockout power. I think thats why Joshua is weighing in 10lbs more...im betting its all muscle so he can put more firepower behind his quick shots

Naa can't even remember the last time Klitschko knocked anybody out. Unless Joshua's chin is made from papier mache he should be upright

Joshua looks jacked! Just like Fury he has the edge in size. Would be disappointed if Joshua doesn't send Klitschko into retirement. Even Samuel Peter knocked Klitschko down thrice in their first fight before they involved home cooking

Umtiti ko Umbooty ni. You no like Umkobothi. Anuofia

This ewure of misfortune known as apoche cra cra is just too daft

Anyway all my boxing niggas. Joshua x Klitschko. Who ya got?

Cc Nihilist, Ibime, Afrodoc, Chic2pimp

Roland17:
At 41, W. Klitschko has slowed down, and may not possesses the power punch the Ukrainian is renowned for, however, i still think he has the experience to win this fight.

I haven't seen Joshua really go the full length so its hard to tell what his cardio and chin is like. But the guy dey throw blow abeg oh. He tends to be a bit wild with it but if he can land his punches with accuracy he could even land a K.O.

Klitschko at this point is just a jab n grab merchant tbh. If he couldn't knockdown Fury, Haye even Samuel Peters then I doubt he can knockdown Joshua. Anything can happen sha but I wouldn't take Joshua serious if he doesn't win this fight.

chic2pimp:
Dude does not even turn 29 until december so there is still a bit of time left. A bargain for a player of his calibre. They are few and far inbetween. It might have been excessive in the past but in the current market i'm afraid it's not

Instead of paying £60m for 29 year old Sanchez with one year on his deal I would rather pick Heung Min Son from Tottenham for £35m. Or pay €80m for Mbappe. Players young and with plenty resell value. Infact by the time you factor wages it becomes lucid that its just not a smart deal

And all my boxing niggas. Joshua x Klitschko. Who ya got?

SIRcumalot:
i suspect part of the reason why the cavs blew those last games to lose the first seed is to avoid this wizards team.

Smart choice. Its all mental for the Wizards. They for me are still the only team that can beat the Cavs ATBE.

Especially if X-factors like Markieff show up.

That Wall and Beal combo is too lethal.

Eruditor:
LOL, My guy said musings and opinions - no sir. I watched those games. Houston threw bodies at RW and although Beverley was usually part of the double team, he was rarely ever alone. Don't let the stat sheets hoodwink you.

I can prove you are pointing those misread statistics as facts. In game 5, Russell did not shoot 7/27 on Beverley (you misunderstood what ESPN meant). It was over the whole series. Also, 5 TOs in game 5 caused by Beverley? No my man, it was over the whole series again.

Like I said, to prove my point again, Russell had 47 points in that game and was 15/34. If ESPN meant Russell got 27 points on 7/27 in that game alone it means he was 8 of 7 with the remainder of his shots. This is a statistical impossibility.


http://www.espn.com/blog/houston-rockets/post/_/id/4076/rockets-win-series-as-beverley-battles-westbrook

I repeat: Houston used double and sometimes triple teams on him. Watch the games to fact-check what I am saying.


I don't want to make an unnecessarily long post but I would state what I meant by coaching and system.

So if OKC kept getting leads with their starters outplaying Rocket starters in virtually all the games, can we then conclude OKC had better starters than the Rockets?

What if I say it was D'Antoni's strategy to put his better players on the bench (one could argue that Gordon, Nenê and Lou are better than Ariza, Capela and Beverley) and then use the first unit to tire RW so that when he rested, the "bench" could do the damage? What if that was how he prep'd his team to play against OKC?

Russell's poor shooting usually occurred in the 4th quarters, which one could argue he was fatigued then. What if that was Mike's plan knowing Russell would opt to play hero ball?

You can say what you will about systems. Some coaches adapt depending on what they have at their disposal while others don't. Some have various offensive schemes to throw when they need buckets while some rely on their superstars to bail them out. If you do not see the intricate details the same way, that is perfectly fine. That goes for Lue, kerr, Pop and so on.

And BTW, without Beverley, Houston still wins the series neat.

Ol boy I should take your opinion over that of designated statisticians? I tire oh. There are stats that distinguish between Beverley and other teammates defensive efforts and you want me to accept your Telemundo. Beverley singlehandedly forced more turnovers than his teammates. Westbrook shot 15% lower while being guarded by him but keep talking about double and triple teams as if people compiling can't tell the difference.

And those leads were down to who? You mean D'Antoni sets his team to chase the game every time? Is he psychic to know Oladipo would shoot 4/17? Are you hearing yourself at all? D'Antoni knew Nene would shoot 100%? Coaches in typical game situations just go with the hot hand or hot rotation as the game rolls along. That is why Dwight Howard tonight did not play the entire 4th quarter of an elimination game. This is not football, the starter/bench concept is not the same. Certain players are just on the bench for show and vice versa. That is why Lue can sit Love and Kyrie the entire 4th quarter of a playoff game

Anyway I no dey for your unverifiable 'What if' Telemundo.

Eruditor:
Nobody said players don't matter. But good players in a bad system will amount to the same - failure. Instead of all the superficial analysis about how RWs teammates let him down, I am showing you how his own game play and Donovan's give-it-to-WestBrook system contributed more weightage.

By my logic the HOFers you mentioned are HOFers for a reason and Nenê, like Javale will never be. So the people telling us how great he is, may need to pipe down with the histrionics.

There is no sense in passing to someone who is free and shoots better than you because he is 1/12. Okay. You did it yourself and your team still lost but you revert, and say the fault belongs to the 1/12 guy. Now that is funny.

Good players can make a bad system and inept coach look good. I asked a simple question. What was Donovan's system when Durant was there? Spoelstra for Heat nko? What is Enrique's system at Barca?

You are focusing on RW and the coach. Good. I'm focusing on the glaring incompetence of his teammates and how even a perfect game from Westbrook did not guarantee an OKC win. By the time I whip out +/- stats for Harden and Westbrook you would start telling stories that touch.

But that is essentially their game. Based on your definition they are also incapable of generating their own offense. Cedric Ceballos & Mike Conley would probably not make Hall of Fame. Doesn't mean D.J Mbenga and Sasha Vujacic are better or comparable. Anyway na Golden State I blame because McGee woulda been in China and you won't be here commiting sacrilege

Lmao Oladipo drawing inferior coverage is shooting 8% in a game you are chasing but pass him the ball. As if if Oladipo kept missing you wouldn't flip the script and blame Westbrook for not taking over. That is the beauty of sports sha. Where one player gets the blame for others not doing their job.

SmooshCHN1:
It's unfair to hold Westbrook totally accountable for OKC's loss. There's Donovan who as a professional should've known that one man army won't get them anywhere, or would be detrimental to the development of other players. His roster management was very very poor and Westbrook seemed fine with it since he kept having a good game. That didn't look mature to me being that you've been in the league for 9 years. Hope they play to their full potential next year.

What would you have had him do? Come out and put his teammates on blast like Wade and Butler did? Pull a hissy fit like LeBron did.

How would you have preferred he aired ìs grievances? What difference would it have made. Maybe he wanted to be the martyr but I want to know what a public complaint would have achieved that wouldn't make him look like a whiner and a bad teammate

John Wall is such pure joy to watch mayne

birdman:
I no know ooo A40 is refusing to repent of his MVP pick in spite of the obvious Of course the loss is not all on westbrook, but he is the primary PG. Anyone with unbiased eyes can see Oladipo was never really comfortable. those are issues coach and westbrook should have worked out during regular season.

Harden was my pick for MVP. But I can't see what is happening ojukoroju and not talk. Houston can win with Harden playing at 50%, Westbrook needs to be at 90%

The most makes Oladipo made in the series was 7, that is less than Anderson's best. Anderson was Houston's 5th best player on offense

Oladipo was incompetent not uncomfortable on both ends of the floor. Non factor on defense and offense but the coach and Westbrook must get blame

Donlittle:
Harden comes out of the game, nene comes in, and does damage on the offensive end. Westbrook goes to the bench, Kanter comes in, and banter gets bullied by Nene and co. A 6pt lead turns into a deficit like you said. How is that Russell Fault? Yes we can say Houston Management got better players to help out Harden, but why blame Russell for his franchise incompetences? That's unfair to him.

Is it not the same game we watched where Lou Will came right after Harden let the game while Houston was down and dropped about 10-12 points in 2 minutes? Russell left a game, Norris Cole came in, and missed three shot back to back to back, turned the ball over, got bullied on defense, didn't make a pass that led to an assist, but we are supposed to get on russ for coming back into the game and and try to pass the same ball around again? Hmm nice one.

Some people here are talking, as their team take good reach, they still went after Kevin Durant in the summer just because barnes missed 20 shots or how many did he missed? But want to tell me Russell Westbrook should be blamed for Andre Roberson make 2 out of how many free throws? Oladipo not being able to run the point, or Norris Cole playing like he suddenly can't play basketball? Or Enes Kanter and Adams letting Nene give them the footwork like he is Hakeem? Nice.

Nene, Gordon, Williams all bench players and able to create their own shot. Veterans who have been in this scenario and can carry the team for stretches offensively. Anyways when ninjas start comparing Nenê to McGee I shoulda known it was time to take a hike. Opelope Golden State laye McGee

I remember that Lou Williams example clearly I was so mad because I took a prop bet on him for u16.5 and my bet looked safe till the bast@rd rattled 10pts in 2mins. I was already dreaming of my Yeezy Belugas. Na him person dey tell us about system and Harden making everybody better as if they were nobodies before Houston

D'Antoni the one trick pony don turn to genius because 'system' Someone internationally maligned for his defense is suddenly an expert that conjured a defensive system able to stop Westbrook. Orisirisi.

Even elastic get him yield point.

aliondo:
I learnt so much from this our first round loss....To win the playoffs, even if you just have two superstars or at most three superstars, your bench is very critical.....Yes, the Rockets had a better team but i also believed we could match up with them better than losing in five games....
We should get more players that can shoot the ball so when all the attention is on Russ, they could be making shots....

If Golden State with Steph, Klay and Draymond could still go for K.D then what are we talking about? Lebron with Kyrie and Love was shamelessly crying for additions even disrespecting his employers but they want Westbrook to turn water into wine. An Oladipo a playoff rookie is 4/17 on the night with your team trailing but we should keep pumping Oladipo the ball because development. A player sits for 2 mins and a 6pt lead turns to almost double digit deficit but he should enter the game and keep passing

Eruditor:
RW was double and triple teamed alot all series long and just like Jordan in the mid 80's he kept trying to prove he could not be guarded which forced a couple of TOs of such plays. Beverley was part of the system of players Mike threw at RW. Period.

D'Antoni can do alot if he has his type of players at his disposal. He has proven that by failing with the Lakers and Knicks. Your excuse that those teams were destined to fail is neither here nor there because this same Rockets team were destined to fail.

I am hailing the system not because of what it has achieved thus far but because it has elevated the game of almost every team member on the roster. If they lose to Spurs or GSW, it will only amplify the importance of playing to a system (since both teams have been enmeshed in systems longer than the Rockets) and no t all these wanton heroics we saw in the playoffs.

There was a reason Roberson kept playing even when he was bricking FTs. I wager that if someone else and not him was marking Harden, there would have been no need for his missed FTs as Harden would have scored loads for fun and Houston would have blown out OKC.

Guy. Beverley forced Westbrook to 5 turnovers by himself and 7/27 shooting in Game 5. By HIMSELF not this double and triple teaming things you are saying. He was not part of any system. He took that challenge and marked out Westbrook like Raja Bell did Kobe back in Phoenix. Present your FACTS while arguing don't just drop musings and opinions

But you called D'Antoni a one trick pony. What did that imply? Who is the two trick pony in the NBA? The easiest pointer that both teams were doomed to fail are what has happened since his absence.

If the 'system' is to blame for OKC and to praise for Harden then that means all your bile for Westbrook is badly misplaced. Because it means it essentially works with or without Harden.

What was the system when Tyron Lue jumped into the Cavs team midseason and won a title? What was Billy Donovan deploying when they beat the Spurs? Kerr and the Warriors nko. Abeg bone that system yarns.

Roberson's defensive work was essentially useless. Because the Rockets had a Nenê who could enter the game and outscore and outrebound OKC's entire bench. Whereas the Roberson fouls messed up OKC'S offensive 'rhythm' for the quarter. Its like dashing your babe 100k then going to borrow 200k from her the next day and off course not paying her back

Eruditor:
Then the credit should go to better coaching and a better system not necessarily having better players.

For all Lou's capabilities he never averaged 18.8ppg in the playoffs until Houston. Again, this proves he is benefitting more from a system than being a vastly superior talent to what OKC possess.

A shot from Gordon richochets the rim and 6'11 Nenê puts it back- shot creation. Routine PnRs that lead to alley-hoops that Nenê dunks - shot creation. Pass to Nenê in the post, he dribbles the ball 1 or 2 times backing close to the rim, turns around for a routine lay-up - shot creation. All the things Javale cannot do.

No he didn't take all shots off rhythm any more than RW did when he shot 4/18 or 3/18 from 3 in game 4. Nobody is making an excuse for Oladipo alone, but the whole team - something everyone had noticed about Russell's game even while KD was there.

No team will make it far in a system where 1 player dribbles the ball all the time no matter how good said player is.

Oladipo has come under your tutelage and it is your duty to make him a better player for the team's sake. Pass the ball to him with 18 secs on the clock let him feel it and move. He is not a great catch and shoot player so giving him the ball with 2 secs to go is just rubbish basketball.

Tell yourself, "at the expense of my ppg I would keep feeding my teammates the ball so they can get into a rhythm. If we lose, we lose".

Do it long enough and before long those "scrubs" will get a feel of the game and repay your faith.

It is not rocket science that OKC won more games in which Oladipo and co had decent numbers at good percentages. But all that was overshadowed by TDs such that it became if you did not have them your team lost. Okay sir. You had them 4 times in 5 games and guess how many games your team lost?

Your guess is as good as mine.

If having better players didn't matter how does Erik Spoelstra go from 4 straight finals to not making playoffs at all?

That is down to a lot of factors including opposition strength. Not just the mythical 'system' you keep repeating ad nauseum. In the event his numbers drop against teams like the Spurs and Golden State I would like to see your explanation

By your logic we can call Tim Duncan, Shaq, heck even Kareem Abdul Jabbar American McGee's since bigs have to drive to the rim a la Iverson before you acknowledge their post game. Go and ask Adams who frequently got torched by sharp footwork whether Nenê is McGee 2.0

In that series which game was Oladipo in 'rhythm' you can't even present any stat to backup your claim that Oladipo always got the ball late in the shot clock. What is worse where is the sense in passing to someone who is 1/12 when you are chasing the game. That is as smart as giving a running back the ball after 3 fumbles when you are down 4 Touchdowns

Eruditor:
WB was guarded by a system and less by individuals. That is why Beverley could do his own on the offensive end.

WB was not playing any fantastic either. His considerably high ppgs are explained by his extremely high shot attempts.

Lou Will was benefiting from a system not his individual talent alone. 18.8ppg is a career high for him.

Nenê benefitted from the same system. His FG% playoffs wise jumped from 44% to 85%. Ditto Beverley (who played last season and did not influence anything offensively).

That is why it is unnecessary to list out the individual stats of the OKC players as they were undone by the system or lack thereof and that is where Russell was to come in.

I didn't omit Roberson's bad FT shooting. I simply showed that he marked the socks out of Harden and he made many big 3s for his team as well.

Beverley was Westbrook's primary defender. This does not mean he guarded him the entire series. But when he guarded he did enough damage. I recall a game Westbrook made 5 turnovers while being guarded by Beverley. Now when you talk about system I just laugh as if it is not these players that make the system click.

What is D'Antoni's system? The same D'Antoni you labeled a one trick pony even after I showed you his teams in LA and N.Y were simply doomed to fail? All of a sudden he is now an offensive and even defensive guru.

Anyway I would advise you wait till they face the Spurs and maybe the Warriors before you keep hailing this system. This one that you are juxtaposing a decade worth stretch of playoff games vs a 5 game one.

I'm still waiting for you to show me the system that turned Roberson to a 14% FT shooter, or the one that makes Enes Kanter unable to defend the PnR. I bet there is a system too that can magically make Oladipo not shoot worse than 30% from the floor

Eruditor:
If Harden opted to come back in would Mike have stopped him? Mba. Even in moments where Harden and Will played together was Harden jacking up shots? Mba. You keep bringing up Nenê and I asked you if he creates his own shots? He simply benefits from a system.

Oladipo shot badly sure. But zeroing in to raw numbers like 4/17 is a bit superficial. One player pounds the ball for 22secs and then releases it to you with 2 secs left, what else do you do but shoot? Good. It clangs off and the stats will show 0/1 but only someone watching the game would know you shot off rhythm.

Also, the regression is from the fact that after last year's all stars his numbers improved which is why he was rated 48 by ESPN when this season began. Pundits assumed his numbers will be better than his career average or atleast mirror his 18ppg peak season. It did not and it is not only because he is a scrub.

Why would Harden insist on coming in knowing very well he can sit on the bench and not watch his hardwork vanish within 2 minutes.

Lou Williams is a capable ball handler who is arguably more skilled at drawing fouls than Harden himself. OKC don't have a Lou Williams so I don't know if you are expecting that from Semaj Christon or Norris Cole.

Nenê can and creates his own shots unless your definition of shot creation by a big is him dribbling up the floor. He certainly isn't the Brazilian McGee like you claimed

How many shots did Oladipo take off rhythm? Do you have stats to show he took all 17 shots off rhythm?

What was Oladipo's shooting percentage? Even if you insist on picking a period where the season was largely lost and the uptick in points were not indicative of anything. At least try not to find a way of pinning this on Westbrook. This same Oladipo averaged 15pts in the regular season, playoffs came and this guy is shooting less than 30%, averaging 9pts despite not being guarded by the opposition's best player. If you had even pointed to 'lack of playoff experience' that one is still a reasonable excuse not this rhythm, reggae and blues line you keep dropping

Eruditor:
How many shots does Anderson get regularly? It may interest you to know he got just about the same number of shots (11 per game in the regular season and 8 per game in the playoffs). And he averaged 29mins per game in the series. So if he had 11 in games 4 & 5 it means he got 29 in games 1-3 which means he was still getting his shots (9.6per game) and we know his shots were almost always uncontested.

Harrison Barnes had 32 shots in his game 5,6,7 and not over the whole series. Which means he got 10 uncontested shots per game in those games. Not pass-it-off-to-Barnes-with-1-sec-to-go shots. I mean, totally ryhthmic shots.

I showed you that Anderson played less than 20mins and shot 11 times COMBINED in Games 4 and 5 to counter your claim that he kept getting shots when it was apparent he had gone cold. So I don't know why you are bringing up Games 1-3.

For the Barnes example. I just want to know how that approach worked for them. Since they lost every damn game. Roleplayers need to make buckets to get more shots. That's just how it works

Roland17:
Even with the all star assembly, and perimeter shooting Lebron finished 2nd in the eastern conference, yet people have a problem with Westbrook leading the Thunder to a 6th spot in the western conference, all because of his triple double. Aye ma ni ika oh!!!

I have maintained my indifference to who wins the MVP (if anything, i am leaning towards Harden), except he plays at the TD Garden, however, undermining WB's candidature because of his triple double is pathetic, and cheap.

This season, Steve Kerr became the fastest coach in NBA history to record 200 wins, would it be fair to undermine his input and argue any coach could have achieved the same record or even better that record coaching Curry, Klay, Durant, Green and a very potent bench in the NBA?

In my opinion it would be unfair to do that.

People are just being unreasonable with their expectations. The Cavs finished just 5 wins ahead of OKC in a weaker conference. This triple double people go on about won OKC games and got them into the playoffs. Rather than admitting Harden and Houston simply had better help I'm seeing Westbrook getting blamed for the incompetence of his teammates. It defies all logic. The legit issues were raised but the anti-Westbrook crowd are focusing on the abstract

Its good you brought up the Kerr example. Ninjas should give credit where its due